[REL] Imperial Range Correction

[CapnScurvy]

Hitman, your right in thinking that by editing the .cfg files, a correction to the accuracy of metric play would result. However, this is what I learned by using the same .cfg mast heights I used for my fix, within the same mission editor test, but using the game option of the Metric unit of measurement.

First a little background on what I know about the game. The .cfg files within the game are all metric. Mast heights, ship lengths, displacements etc., all metric. The game converts those measurements to Imperial units using the conversion 3.280x meters=feet, or 1.0936xmeters=yards. At least thats the formulation it should use, but those devs could be using anything! The Recognition Manual will show feet for ship dimensions if options are set to Imperial. I assume the game uses the above formula to achieve this conversion, where in the Metric option the game need not convert the measurements.

When I used the Metric option for my test, with zero realism set. The computer accurately reported the range on the position keeper at 1371 +/- a few meters. (I assumed it was meters since the preset distance to target was 1371 or there abouts when I made the mission). I had several targets, and all were as expected. I next enabled the manual targeting option and found the ranges at 1500 +/- a few YARDS. Yes yards, the position keeper was reporting the same distances that I had for those ships when I did my Imperial tests! I know the position keeper does not show either yards or meters as a setting but, the exact numbers as my other tests show they are reading in yards not meters.

So what does this tell you, besides the game is wacked!!! Well, it suggests that in metric mode the game will take a perfectly good meter range-to-target and needlessly convert it to yards! I don't think the game can be fixed with doing a few backward math conversions on the .cfg files to correct itself. Good old seat of the pants trial and error may be the solution for us modders. Like I did with the Imperial measurement tests. A good old engine rebuild may be needed by the Romanians. It doesn't matter what we call the unit of distance; inches, furlongs, fathoms, light years. It still has to be calibrated within two points in the game and go through whatever math conversion the devs left for us to stumble upon.

Cheers